Topic awaiting preservation: DHTML in action (Page 1 of 1)

Please give me some opinions and thoughts on the http://www.digitalchalice.com - I am not sure if this is the correct forum but I post it here as I need experienced DHTML/JavaScript coders opinions :-) Thanks in advance for the comments

Xcalibur

1. I was forwarded to a page saying that I needed quicktime. Do I really need quicktime? I would suspect that's a small part of the site that could be supplemented with alternate content for those without the plugin.

2. The page was... sorta ugly.

3. There was no scrollbar on the page, and with the huge font, I couldn't read the whole thing since I had to scroll down but couldn't.

quote:

---

Your browser does not support JavaScript or it has been disabled. Please enable it and try again.
If you are using Netscape, it can be reable by going to Edit -> Preferences -> Advance

---

an what should i do when using opera? which has Javascript activated?

"Freedom of speech is by no means freedom to insult others" from the Razorart goodbye letter.

Opera says :

Event thread: onload

Error:

name: ReferenceError

message: Statement on line 11: Reference to undefined variable: No such variable 'isNS'

Backtrace:

  Line 11 of inline#3 script in [url=http://www.digitalchalice.com/]http://www.digitalchalice.com/[/url] 

    isOtherBrowser = !isIE && !isNS;

  Line 30 of inline#3 script in [url=http://www.digitalchalice.com/]http://www.digitalchalice.com/[/url] 

    sniff();

  In unknown script

    initMic();

  At unknown location

    {event handler trampoline)

The Javascript works under Opera, however it doesn't tolerate any error, that's maybe why I get the error page and this messsage.

A little background.

edit: Looking at the current version of digitalchalice.com, it seems that you haven't addressed a single blessed one of our suggestions or concerns from the previous thread. What do you expect to hear this time?

[This message has been edited by Perfect Thunder (edited 03-30-2003).]

Got the same error message as Rinswind

_________________________
"There are 10 kinds of people; those who know binary, those who don't and those who start counting at zero"

[WARNING: This is an extremely long post. I'm not sure why, but I decided to do my review in stream of consciousness style. This means, xcalibur, that you are going to have to sift through everything if you want to glean any info from it, and even then it's still probably not going to make much sense. Come to think of it, though, that's pretty much the experience I had at your site. Don't take it too hard, though. I'm just in one of my moods... ;-)]

Hmmm.... OK, I just read the "background" that PT posted. It appears that you at least added the option to stop the blasted music, which is good.

This is the first time I'm seeing this site, though, so I'll give you my first impressions. They went something like this (be prepared for stream of consciousness):

Ugh... pop-ups *CTRL-clicks to open site*

Hmm... what the heck is this? What am I supposed to do? Ah, I see, let's mouse over the buttons... um, OK. What do these four radial buttons do? Nothing happens when I mouse over them. "World Art" "A Gift to You" "At Your Service"??? What is this... am I supposed to guess where these are going to take me?

OK, let's actually try to click something... World Art it is.... Hmm... what are these buttons on the right? Why do only the first and last entries have buttons to the right of them. Oh, I see, they're scroll buttons.

Let's see, mousing over the original entries gives me more info... no, wait. It just shows the same text in the little box in the center. What's the point of that? Looks like a rollover just for the sake of having a rollover. Still don't know what those silly little radial buttons do...

OK, let's see... Space & Sci-Fi... what? Another menu? This is getting a little tedious. Same silly rollovers that only display the text I'm already seeing. What the heck does "Feature Domain" mean?

Fine, fine. Artist List... predictably enough, a list of artists. With improper encoding, so I see C?ric Amadei for the second entry. Let's see if we can change the encoding. What, no right click? What the heck is up with that? Oh... and this is a completely featureless window, so I can't use the menu, either. Wonderful! The site has just taken away any power I may have had. Not only do I feel powerless, but I'm getting mildly agitated as well.

OK, let's take a look at the list... more silly rollovers... is all the site content going to appear in this little chrome thing? Seems like a big waste of space. Oh, wait, no... that's Wes's site. OK, let's click on C?ric's link. Whoa... HUD coming up! Incoming fighters! Get down to that turret gun, kid!

That's it? That tiny little thing is what I just clicked through *counts back * four(?) menus for? Oh, I can actually click on the thing... I wonder if it's going to try to load another pop-up... ah, no pop-up. Well, that's refreshing. But why not just load the large image right from the start? Why make me click yet once again just to get to the image?

What is this log-in link? Weird hover effect... "register, it's free," they say. So what? I'm supposed to register just because it's free? What's in it for me? Ok, let's follow the register here link... maybe there's some info there. Um, no info. OK, I'll just go back... oh, wait, I can't go "back." There is no "back." Well, at least I still have the menu with the silly rollovers down there...

OK, Dirk, what have you got for me... ah... three pictures. OK, now it makes a bit more sense to show the thumbs first. But man is that slow... the HUD effect gets old real quick.

Ah, I've had enough of the art... anything else to look at? A Gift to You? Well, let's give it a shot... I have no idea what this might be... maybe a screensaver? Um, OK... it's nothing. Nothing happened. Oh, wait! The little menu on the left changed. I almost didn't notice that. MIC Consoles? What's MIC... no info from the rollover, of course. Web Templates... well, that's pretty much self-explanatory. And Digital Links... digital links? As opposed to analog links? Or are they links to digital stuff (whatever that may be)? Let's find out.

Our Favourites (British spelling), Must See Sites... OK, so it's just a link list. How is this a gift to me? Well, let's check out our favourites. "Virus cases increase..." OK, I'm out of here... what about the other stuff? MIC Consoles... another menu... still have no idea what an MIC console is... Gallery... yet another menu... what's this? Mic 1, Mic 2, Mic 3... oh, maybe mic stands for "microphone." What the heck? MICGallery.htm... must be some error here. I guess I'll never know what a MIC Console is... but if it does refer to microphones, why are all three letters capitalized... it's not an acronym...

Web Templates... hmm... same menu as MIC Consoles... I'm getting a bad feeling about this. Oh, OK, it's different... I guess. Web template 1, then... Um, OK. It's not different. Just the same MICGallery.htm... over and over and over and over and over... so much for gift. I guess I'm not getting the steak knives either...

The Word... let's think about this for a moment... what could it mean? Maybe it's a journal of some sort. That's my best guess. Poetry... Short Stories... Philosophy... Esoteric... Well, let's see what kind of poetry we've got here. Ah... the same type of menu as with art... it's finally sinking in: this is a submission site. Boy am I slow today.

Eh, well, it's not quite as interesting then. Let's take a look anyway. Hmm... only one writer... Bumble Bee. Why am I thinking about tuna... oh no, now that stupid song is in my head and I'm not going to be able to get it out! Let me turn the music back on... no, I don't like this music... ah, there's a music selection menu. JSBach, cool! Toccata and Fugue... mmm... oh my... that's really quite horrid. Toccata and Fugue is an organ piece, not a piano piece! Aaahhh... quick--change it! change it! Violin Concerto... gaaahhhh!!! What the heck is this? A harpsichord? Oh my god turn it off please make it stop! The tuna song was better... "Bum Bum Bumblebee Bumblebee Tuna, I love Bumblebee Bumble Bee Tuna..." Ah, much better...

Oh, right... poetry. Back through the four different menus... Bumble Bee. If this isn't about tuna I'm going to be very disappointed. "The Moment," "Ballads of 4 Seasons," "A Lonley Flower." I'm getting a bad feeling about this... flashbacks to high school lit mags. Oh god no... please, anything but that. I must click, though... I've come this far...

*Silence. In the distance a wolf howls... Suho begins to babble incoherently...*

Back... must go back... must leave... the angel Floyd... alabaster... no!!!!!!!!!!!

Esoteric... what on earth could this be? I have to know, just like I have to know what it feels like to repeatedly stab myself with a sharpened spoon...

Oh my god... it's Bumble Bee again... why isn't the tuna song playing in my head anymore? I know that to click this link means I will most likely begin twitching uncontrollably and ultimately fall to the floor a writhing, tortured mass of flesh... but I'm going to click anyway.

Whew... ok, it's not as bad as I thought it would be... but it looks like Philosophy, no? Why isn't it in the Philosophy section. And how the heck do I scroll down? Oh, it's those radial buttons. That's what they're for. Gee, I'm so glad all the buttons are clearly labeled for me...

My goodness that is a painful scroll... not unlike sliding down icy steps on my buttocks... thump, thump, thump, thump, ow, ow, ow, ow... yes, indeed that is so painful that I don't want to read this anymore. Or maybe it's just because the content is rather weird... let's move on.

At Your Service. For some reason I am having vague misgivings about this link. I suppose the primary reason is that I have no idea what it means. It also seems to be related to the Gift link, though (maybe only semantically), and that was a terrible disappointment. Do I want to be disappointed again? Sure, why not. Ah... OK, he's offering his services as a web designer (I'm guessing). The link could have been a bit more clear on that. Not much info here yet, though.

OK, how about the buttons on the right side? Credits & Copyright and Contact & Registration seem clear enough. What is the Round Table, or the Digital Fountain, for that matter? Exclusive Offers, Challenge Space, A/V Delights? Still have no idea... Exclusive Offers leads to... Reciprocal Space and Space Exchange... hmm, seems a tad redundant. Reciprocal Space... oh, I guess this is a link exchange kind of thing. Link 1, Link 2? Excuse me? Unless this is linking to a Legend of Zelda site, this does not offer me any hint of what I'm going to find on the other end. And there's no status bar, either. Am I going to click on these unknown links? Not on your life. Not after that goatsex site...

Spatial Exchange... hah! I was right! It is redundant! So what's up with that? Couldn't make up his mind which clever phrase to use? How about just "Link Exchange"? Now that's clever!

Eh, let's move on to the Digital Fountain... Monthly Gifts, Hall of Fame, Pleasure Dome. Well screw the monthly gifts. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Hall of Fame? If Bumble Bee is in there I may very well resume stabbing myself with that sharpened spoon. "for the artist

Suho.

xcalibur: Clearly people are still having problems with your site. If you respond to the criticisms in this thread, also respond to the criticisms from the previous thread (I've helpfully posted a link earlier in this one).

Your biggest problem is that the site just doesn't work very well, if at all. In non-IE browsers, it's failing completely; in IE, it's either not working at all, or it's working very very slowly and choppily. This is a gigantic problem. You can't sell people a product that doesn't work. (What's more, the encrypted source prevents us from offering any solutions -- so I'm not sure what you want the JavaScript wizards to tell you.)

Your secondary problems are legion; and I mean that phrase in its full original biblical context. I've already posted about them, and since there's been no change, I'm not going to do it again.

Yup. On a cable connection I once again lost patience and left before things had a chance to finish loading...

PT: Ah, I love that site. I remember the first time that site was posted here and people were filling in the blank with all sorts of funny stuff. I sat there and laughed forever...

Yes, I have no life. Thank you for asking.

quote:

---

Welcome to DIGITAL CHALICE (r)

To fully experience all what we offer you will need to download the following item :

A link towards Quicktime is following

Please return when finished installing
SURPRISES await you
The Digital Chalice will quench your thirst

---

Damn, tell me this is a joke. I can't even access the website under IE ! Xcalibur, you should consider making accessible content, that doesn't need any plug-in or specific browser, and furthermore, that forbids the access if one of the previous requirements is not met. First : a lot of webusers will never know what you want to be installed, at least you should explain what it is. Two : advanced users will not bother installing a software they don't want to on thei computer to access a website. Three : if you explained a bit what are the 'surprises', the interest for the website would be bigger, but in this state I don't find anything that will make me come back.